Object Retrieval - high cockolorumhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/objectretrieval/taxonomy/term/553/0
enDeciphering “high cockolorum”.http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/objectretrieval/node/346
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<a href="/museums-static/objectretrieval/node/215">Chinese whispers.</a> </div>
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<fieldset class="fieldgroup group-object-biography"><legend>Object biography</legend><div class="field field-type-text field-field-ucl-staff">
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<p>“High cockolorum” is often preceded by “with a”. It seems to mean “high energy”, “high jinks”, or “skip and a jump”, that type of thing.</p>
<p>Some more unusual instances of “high cockolorum”:</p>
<p>From Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens</p>
<p>“'What'll Fagin say?' inquired the Dodger; taking advantage of the<br />
next interval of breathlessness on the part of his friend to<br />
propound the question.</p>
<p>'What?' repeated Charley Bates.</p>
<p>'Ah, what?' said the Dodger.</p>
<p>'Why, what should he say?' inquired Charley: stopping rather<br />
suddenly in his merriment; for the Dodger's manner was<br />
impressive. 'What should he say?'</p>
<p>Mr. Dawkins whistled for a couple of minutes; then, taking off<br />
his hat, scratched his head, and nodded thrice.</p>
<p>'What do you mean?' said Charley.</p>
<p>'Toor rul lol loo, gammon and spinnage, the frog he wouldn't, and<br />
high cockolorum,' said the Dodger: with a slight sneer on his<br />
intellectual countenance.</p>
<p>This was explanatory, but not satisfactory. Master Bates felt it<br />
so; and again said, 'What do you mean?'</p>
<p>The Dodger made no reply; but putting his hat on again, and<br />
gathering the skirts of his long-tailed coat under his arm,<br />
thrust his tongue into his cheek, slapped the bridge of his nose<br />
some half-dozen times in a familiar but expressive manner, and<br />
turning on his heel, slunk down the court.”</p>
<p>Remembrances of Sir William Osler in an unpublished biography of the Canadian physician by Harvey Cushing (1925).</p>
<p>“The first time he came to tea with me and a few of my friends he behaved in a manner such as we had never before come across, and which delighted us immensely. For instance, he insisted upon cutting the cake from the inside, in squares; and gave us cups filled with sugar, in which there were only two or three drops of tea. He also assured us (contrary to all previous teachings!) that it was absolutely the correct thing to lick all one's fingers one after the other after eating anything sticky ; and that the only enjoyable way of having bread and jam was a pile of jam on the plate with a few crumbs of bread in it, the whole of which one ate with a spoon ! He also said that the way to eat chocolates was to open your mouth and shut your eyes and have them thrown in by someone at the other side of the table. Every time he came he would invent some new amusement, and we found these things so pleasant that we asked him to write a treatise on ` Table-manners for Children ' as he said our manners were atrocious and he felt we ought to have some sort of manual to guide us. He managed after some years' correspondence, to evade it by making up the letter of the Lord High Cockolorum. That is how it all came about, as far as I can remember.”</p>
<p>Text available at http://www.asksam.com/osleriana/.</p>
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ArtLanguageSocietyCharles Dickenshigh cockolorumLanguageliteratureWilliam OslerWed, 21 Oct 2009 15:32:11 +0000contributor346 at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/objectretrieval